


Breaking Through (the Doom and Gloom)

by delighted



Series: A Cure for Doom and Gloom [5]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Developing Relationship, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-08
Updated: 2016-03-16
Packaged: 2018-05-25 12:29:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6195160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/delighted/pseuds/delighted
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the weekend apart, Danny and Steve have some catching up to do... and maybe some decisions to make.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Monday

**Author's Note:**

> Well, here we go! Part five. I'll just start with saying thank you to everyone who has encouraged me along the way. I'd not thought I could or would do an "extended" Five-0 fic, and it's been really fun so far!
> 
> Five chapters, Monday through Friday... posted every other day.
> 
> There will be a bit of a break after part five, before I post part six. I need some not D&G for a bit. :-) But I do have notes and even scenes written for parts seven and eight. So, anyone who still wants "more"... rest assured. More will come! :-)

Danny knew, as soon as he woke up, that Steve was watching him. He opened his eyes and saw hazel ones practically consuming him.

“Hey, hey, babe... I’m right here, I’m not going anywhere.” _Crap_. Danny was beginning to think that he was not going to be able to leave him alone again. “Ok, babe, look. We gotta get through this day, ok? But we’re going to take some time tonight and make this better. I don’t know what, but we will, ok? You just gotta get through the day. Can you do that?” Steve nodded, but he didn’t look very convincing. “Do you want to swim, babe?” Danny asked, and Steve shook his head. “Ok. I’m going to go make coffee. You stay right here, ok?” Steve nodded.

Danny swore silently to himself all the way down to the kitchen, where he put the coffee on, then sighed, leaning against the counter. He ran through his lists of things that were good for Steve—things that got Steve out of his head, got him dealing with things, or at least not being consumed by them. Swimming was one, and when Steve had refused that, it had panicked Danny a little. Working with his hands, playing his guitar, those were good, but Danny was pretty sure he needed something on a different level to be able to get there. He just wasn’t sure what. He toasted some English muffins, got out Steve’s favorite grass fed butter and some grape jelly for himself, put it all on a tray with two mugs and a pitcher of milk. Steve needed a re-set switch, Danny thought to himself in frustration. Well, he realized, he’d done that, just a week ago. Alright. That gave him an idea. When the coffee was done, and Danny had used up all his swear words, he took the tray upstairs, and found Steve out on the lanai.

“I thought I told you to stay in bed,” Danny scolded, setting the tray down on the table in front of the wicker sofa.

“You are not getting crumbs in my bed,” Steve replied softly, and Danny couldn’t help but smile at that.

“Well, at least that’s more normal Steve,” he said sweetly, then sat next to Steve, bumping his knee, and handed him his coffee. “Here, babe.”

Steve took a sip, then set it down, and turned towards Danny who was sitting sideways to face him. “I don’t know if I can do this, Danny. I know you want me to talk, and I think I want to, too. I just don’t think I _can_.”

Danny was a little stunned by that, and wondered how much of the time he’d been downstairs Steve had spent coming up with what to say. He reached a hand out to Steve’s arm. “Hey,” he said gently. “You know what, I don’t care about that right now, ok? Right now, I care about you drinking coffee, eating something, and us getting to work on time.” He paused, hoping he was guessing correctly. “We will get through the day, then we will come home, and you’re going to swim to make up for not doing it this morning, and I am going to do what I do best and order take out, then we are going to sit on the sofa and watch a horrible movie, and we are going to just relax and be together, ok? That’s all. We both need that today, ok?”

Steve smirked slightly on the line about ordering take out, and by the time Danny had finished, he was breathing more normally and was nodding, looking relieved. “Yeah, ok. I can do that,” he said softly, and picked his coffee back up.

“That’s my boy,” Danny said, and patted Steve on the knee, leaving his hand there, and leaned back on a sigh. Steve put his coffee down, and wrapped an arm around Danny, pulling him in close.

“Thanks, Danny,” he whispered into Danny’s hair.

Danny smiled, and turned towards Steve, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “Any time, babe,” he said, fondly, trying to keep the bald relief out of his tone.

Since Steve had skipped swimming, they had a bit of extra time, for which Danny was grateful—he was fairly certain cuddling was going to be medicinal for both of them. Steve was mellow, and still very much in his head, but he seemed less tense by the time he got up to shower. He’d pulled himself together enough to pack lunches while Danny got ready, but then when it was time to go to the office, Steve let Danny drive, which was completely surreal.

Fortunately (and Danny thought that was saying something rather terrifying), almost as soon as they got in they were called out on a case. And it was fairly routine, but did call for a good amount of running and jumping and sharp shooting. And after, Danny sat with Steve in his office as they ate a belated lunch, and he thought to himself that Steve at least looked a little better. Steve seemed to sense what Danny was thinking, when he looked at him, because he smiled and said “Danny, I’m fine. Stop looking at me like that.”

Danny smiled, nodded, and they ate in slightly uneasy silence till they were interrupted by another case, and half their lunch was left uneaten while they sped through the streets of Honolulu, and Danny tried not to yell too loudly because he knew it was just Steve being Steve—and frankly it was probably going to be good for him, even if it was less good for Danny’s blood pressure. He sighed, and Steve turned to glare at him, and Danny did yell at that: “At least watch the damn road, Steven!” Which made Steve smirk, so, all in all, not too bad.

Thankfully it wasn’t too late by the time they got home, and Danny sent Steve directly out to swim. He sat out on the sand and drank a beer and let his mind just clear, till he could see that Steve had headed back. Then he went in to order Thai food, and to shower.

Danny set the food out in front of the TV. He made an effort to make it look nice, though he wasn’t really sure why. But he used real plates, cloth napkins, he even thought about lighting candles (which, why did Steve have those? He didn’t want to think about that...). He went through Steve’s DVR trying to find something to watch that would be good enough to hold their attention at least a little, but bad enough that they’d have fun making snarky comments. Steve had a bunch of Bond films recorded... ah, perfect. _A View to a Kill_. That would do nicely. He loaded it up and pressed pause.

By the time Steve came down from showering, Danny’d finished half his second beer and had nibbled a little on a spring roll.

Steve smiled fondly at Danny, and Danny felt something he didn’t really want to admit, but was it getting harder to ignore. He handed a still-damp Steve a beer and received a kiss on the cheek for his trouble. Steve sat down next to Danny, closer than was necessary, slung an arm around him, and looked at the TV, smiling.

“Bond. Excellent!” Steve said as he pressed play, and pulled Danny even closer to him. “Thanks, buddy. I really appreciate this.”

Danny leaned into him, enjoying the closeness after the rough day. “Well, you held up your end of the bargain quite admirably, babe,” he said fondly. And they settled back to eat and watch the movie, and it almost felt like the evenings they used to have. Well, except that neither of them was being in the least subtle about the cuddling.

By the time the movie ended, they were nearly dozing off, and they’d both benefited greatly from the good meal and the close contact and the semblance of normalcy—“reset switch” Danny had labeled it in his head, and it had given Danny another idea.

“So, babe, I was thinking. I don’t have the kids this weekend, so let’s do something. Remember how you said you’d like a whole week like last Monday? How about we do a whole weekend of it? We’ll stock up on Friday, lots of food and stuff, and then just hole up here Saturday and Sunday, and eat, drink, swim, and relax.”

Steve pulled Danny more solidly against him. “Danno, that’s a great idea, I love it. Thank you.”

Danny smiled, pleased his idea had met with approval. “Yeah, babe. Just one thing though, because you know Chin and Kono are going to want to go surfing again, so what do we tell them?”

“Danny, we have till Friday to figure that out... let’s just see what happens, ok?”

Danny shook his head bemusedly but agreed. Then he rose and offered Steve his hand, and they went up to bed.

Once they’d settled in bed, Danny sensed that Steve was maybe feeling a little uncomfortable. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to push it or just let him be, and while he was debating asking Steve if he wanted to talk, Steve let out one of the sighs Danny had come to associate with Steve wanting to say something. He smiled to himself and waited.

“I don’t want you to be upset with me,” Steve finally whispered.

“Babe, why would I be upset with you?” Danny asked, glad Steve was talking, but concerned about his tone.

“Because I’m no good at this,” he sighed.

Danny let out a little growl. “Stop it, just stop it. Ok? I don’t care what you are or are not good at.” And he pulled Steve to him, and he kissed his head, and _shit_ he wanted to do more, shit shit shit. “Oh, babe.” Steve kind of shuddered, and it seemed like he might fight back, but Danny squeezed harder, and he gave in with what almost sounded like a sob. “Please don’t fight this... don’t make it so hard, don’t say you can't do it, just... please. Trust me, ok? Just let it be for now. I’m not pushing you, I want you to do this on your own time, you have to be comfortable with it,” and Danny paused to admit he wasn’t really sure what part he was talking about now, because he was growing slightly less able to keep himself from thinking that it was maybe Danny who was wanting “more” and he was surprising himself with not being terrified by that—but maybe that was mostly because right now Steve was freaking him out, and he didn’t know what to do, other than to hold him and tell him to just let it be.

Which, fortunately seemed to be the right thing, at least for now, as Steve eased into Danny’s arms, whispered “Ok, Danny,” and sighed.

Danny kissed the top of Steve’s head, felt his heart thump awkwardly in his chest, and scolded himself for not dealing better with Steve, and vowed to make it up to him somehow.


	2. Tuesday

In contrast to Monday, Tuesday was a little slow, which, considering they all had a lot of paperwork to do after Monday, was probably a good thing. But Danny kept finding himself distracted. And the message he kept re-reading on his phone was the reason why.

_When can I see you?_

He felt like his head was filled with clouds, and his concern for Steve was flooding out everything else. Except for that message. Which felt like it was cutting itself into his skin. He knew she wouldn’t freak out if he didn’t reply until the end of the day. And, he knew that it hadn’t been so long since they’d been together that she would really be freaking out. They had, especially recently—well, since Charlie—regularly spent quite a while apart between nights together. But something was nagging at the back of his head, telling him this was different. And, yeah, ok, maybe it was just that he was feeling so completely taken over by the whole Steve thing. And maybe it was something else as well, something that had been brewing on its own for some time.

Danny was startled out of his thoughts by a knock on his door. He looked up and saw Kono there, asking if she could come in. He waved her in, noticed she closed the door very carefully, and she came to sit next to him. She smiled, and regarded him for a while, and he tried not to grow anxious. Then she took a deep breath, and dove in.

“You’re staying with him, aren’t you? Like Chin is with me....” And Danny actually gasped, just softly, but didn’t reply, and she continued. “On Saturday, while you were with the kids, he was.... Well, at first he was good. Fun, light, playful Steve. But he got that competitive, kind of grouchy edge to him, the longer we were out there. And I just kept wondering if it wasn’t your influence wearing off.”

Danny looked a little askance at her, and it suddenly occurred to him that Kono had a lot of experience with Steve when Danny was there and also when Danny was _not_... and for all he’d been worried about her or Chin figuring out something was up, _that_ was something that hadn’t really occurred to him.

“I know what Steve is like when you’re not around.” She smiled. “Which, I guess, you don’t. Not really. But that more serious, in-his-head self? The one that’s a little bit grumpy. Rougher. More like he just got off the ship....” She huffed out a little laugh that was a bit fond and just a little bit long-suffering. “Chin could categorize it better. But he’s different when you’re not around. And he got a little bit like that on Saturday. But that morning, he wasn’t. So, I just wondered....” She smiled and sat back, giving him, he knew, either the space to say something if he wanted, or the opportunity to dismiss her. He knew she’d leave, if he gave her the look. And he knew she’d tell Chin. And, for now, Danny decided he’d rather keep things as confined as he could, and he sensed that if he admitted it, she’d keep quiet. For now.

“Yeah,” he sighed. “He was a mess after that Sunday. I took him home, fed him, and decided I needed to just be with him for a while.” Danny didn’t feel ok sharing too much about what was going on in Steve’s head, and not just because he knew Steve would hate that. Danny knew he was... well, privileged is how he would put it, because being let in with Steve was a very rare and precious thing. He refused to cheapen that by blabbing about it. Thing was, he got the sense Kono already knew that, and probably considerably more, judging by the way she was looking at him. He knew he’d been right to be wary of her being aware of what was going on. If anything, he’d underestimated her. And in a flash of insight it occurred to him that her experiences with Adam had granted her wisdom far above her experience as a cop.

“You sure you know what you’re doing, brah?” She put a hand on his arm. “Don’t pretend this isn’t something big, ok? That’s all I’m saying.” She paused, and looked deeply into Danny’s eyes, and he knew better than to blink or flinch or look away. She smiled, having evidently seen what she’d needed to. She stood up, patted him on the head, and said: “Take good care of the boss man, brah, he deserves it.” And she turned and walked out of his office.

Once she’d gone, Danny let out a bemused laugh on a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. Her words about it being something big echoed in his head. Not that he didn’t know that. It was so huge it was taking over everything completely. But, there just hadn’t been any choice, and he smiled a little bit resignedly as he realized that summed up pretty much all things to do with him and Steve just about perfectly. Never any choice. And, that seemed to convince him of something because he got up and walked over to Steve’s office. Steve looked up at him and smiled.

“Hey, babe,” he said softly. “Let’s go home.”

Steve skipped swimming that night because they were going to spend some time working on the Merc. But first he made dinner, and Danny loved leaning against the kitchen counter, sipping wine, watching Steve cook. He was so at ease, so confident—and not that Steve wasn’t like that at work, but it was nice to see that confidence, that comfort, when guns were not involved. They ate out on the lanai, and Danny didn’t push that, because he knew that the dining room was still kind of hard for Steve (and, ok, maybe just a little because Danny had come to think of the upstairs lanai as their special place).

After they ate, Steve suggested Danny put on some grubbies. Danny reminded him they’d had that particular conversation, and from the look on Steve’s face, it wasn’t something he’d forgotten. So Danny rolled his eyes at him and threatened to withhold beer if he didn’t behave.

Steve didn’t really seem to have a specific task in mind, he just kind of puttered about, checking things, fussing a little here and there. And Danny actually thought that maybe Steve didn’t plan on getting anything _done_  on the car... maybe he was simply using it as a way to talk. Because Danny was learning that Steve talked more easily, almost didn’t notice he was “talking,” when he was working with his hands. It was as if the part of his mind that resisted talking about feelings and emotions was distracted, and so he was able to talk about things that he typically avoided.

He started with general car related reminiscences about his dad—how he’d really wanted to share his love of cars with Steve. Then he told a sweet story about how Mary had gone missing one night after being sent to her room in trouble, and their dad had found her, curled up in the back seat of the Merc with her blanket. And he laughed—a little bitterly—when he remembered how their mom had threatened to tow the car into the ocean if all it was going to do was take up space in the garage and get dusty.

Just little things. But, not really so little when Danny knew very, very clearly that there were simply far too few of them. Which made each one so much more precious. But Steve shared them with such ease, Danny was very touched. He was finding he was unaccountably emotional about Steve's stories, and he remembered that he’d suspected Danny’s own issues had made an emotional impact on Steve. Danny wasn’t really sure what to make of that, but he knew it said something, and he was sure it was important. But so was paying attention to Steve—he'd already learned that. So he drew his focus back to Steve, and enjoyed watching him tinker while he talked.

After a while, Steve started to put things away and clean up. “You know,” he began thoughtfully. “It’s almost like I don’t want to finish. Like I want it to always be something I can work on.” He paused, and smiled. “You know? I think that makes sense. Because... when I’m working on the car, it’s not that I feel closer to him, or that it’s the only time I do. But, somehow, it feels the most positive? Does that even make sense?”

Danny smiled. “Yeah, babe, it does.” He swallowed and blinked back a few tears. And once again found himself thinking that Steve was a lot wiser about emotions than either of them gave him credit for.

While Steve went up to shower, Danny pulled out his phone and looked at the message again. Then took a deep breath and typed his reply. _Tomorrow lunch? Usual place_. And the fact that he was suggesting lunch in public would not be lost on her, he didn’t think for one moment. But it was what he could do. He wasn’t going to make any rash decisions. He did, however, turn his ringer off as soon as he hit send. Then he made a sandwich for Steve’s lunch, ignoring the fact that Steve would ask why there wasn’t one for him. He’d tell him, of course. Tomorrow. Danny leaned against the counter and poured himself a glass of whiskey, checked his phone for a reply. _Ok, see you then!_ And a smiley face. Not a heart, he noted. He sighed, downed the whiskey, and went upstairs to get ready for bed.


	3. Wednesday

When Danny woke up Wednesday morning, he felt sick. He was going to have to leave Steve for the night again. Rachel had insisted that Charlie needed to be home, and her trade for that was Danny getting Grace for the night. Since they hadn't been on their regular schedule because of Charlie, a normal Wednesday was something they hadn't had in a while, and Danny was not going to pass it up. He missed his nighttimes and his mornings with Grace. And he was excited to have that, especially after the weekend. But he was actually really worried leaving Steve home alone.

They’d talked about it in bed the night before—by which Danny meant he’d tried to get Steve to talk about it. But Steve had dismissed him with platitudes about swimming ten miles and working on his songs and doing a lot of cleaning and maybe some cooking. 

Danny sighed, frustrated, at the memory.

“Danny, _I’ll be fine_.”

And Danny actually choked on the emotion that rose from Steve having known from just that one sigh exactly what he’d been thinking. He turned over to face the man he was having an increasingly impossible time imagining being without. “Call me, ok? Before you do something stupid? Just. Call me.”

Steve got out of bed, ruffling Danny’s hair and saying “Come on, Danno, let’s go swim.”

Danny swallowed the tears that really wanted to fall from his eyes and decided a swim was the least he could do for Steve. Especially considering his plans for lunch. Which he still hadn't told Steve about. He sighed and got up, steeling himself for a morning swim... and telling Steve he was going to see Melissa. He really felt sick. 

*

Danny was not about to be late for his lunch with Melissa on top of everything else, so he left the office early, making eye contact with Steve briefly as he left, but not saying anything. He’d told him about his lunch plans that morning when he packed Steve’s lunch, and Steve had been completely unreadable. Not really feeling up to pushing the topic himself, Danny'd let it be, but the blank look in Steve's eyes had left him feeling really strange. He pushed the memory down with some force and tried to focus on what was about to happen. Whatever that might be.

He got to the diner and managed to get a secluded corner booth. He went ahead and ordered their food, as Melissa had texted that she might be a little late. By the time she got there, the food had already arrived. She smiled so sweetly when she saw him, Danny almost wanted to throw up.

“Hey,” he whispered, and kissed her as she sat down next to him, grabbing a fry from his plate and thanking him for having the food ready.

“You’re the best, Danny,” she said fondly as she took a sip of her iced tea, and they chatted a little mindlessly for a while. “So, how’s Steve?” She asked, before she picked up her sandwich.

Danny swallowed. “Uh, yeah, ok,” he stumbled, uncertain how much she was implying. Her tone had been a little odd, and the look she gave him made him feel like she’d learned something from his response, which made him feel really uneasy. But she let it go.

“And how are the kids?”

He sighed. “Grace was _so_ good with Charlie,” he said warmly. “It was great.”

“That’s so great, Danny. I’m glad.” And she put a hand on his and smiled. “And how are _you_ doing?” She asked, and he knew she really wanted to know, and he knew she deserved more than a simple “Eh, tired,” or some such.

He took a long slow breath. “Honestly,” he said, “I just don’t know.” He knew his eyes were glistening.

She let out a little sigh. “Danny, I’m sorry I’m not more of a help,” she looked in his eyes, and he almost wanted to look away, afraid of what she might see there, but he didn’t.

“Hey,” he said, fondly, “not your job.”

She smiled. But then asked “And is it Steve’s?” And something in her tone had Danny freaking out a little.

“I, uh,” he replied, and then just sat there, unsure what to think, what to say, what to _do_. 

“Danny, are you in love with him?” And she said it so softly, so fucking sweetly, and Danny felt his heart just break.

“He’s my partner,” he whispered, and even he wasn't sure if it was an explanation or an excuse. 

She huffed out a tiny laugh. “It’s not just that. No one is _that_ close with someone they work with.” And she was looking at him with such sincerity, such kindness, such fondness, and such hurt... and he just caved.

“I don’t know.”

She swallowed, nodded, and turned back to look in his eyes. “Then find out.” She kissed him on the forehead and got up.

“But—” Danny gasped.

She shook her head at him, smiling so sadly. “ _Find out_.” She said firmly, and she left.

He didn't know how long he sat there, and he couldn't have said how he felt. It seemed like shock, but he knew it shouldn't be. Eventually he paid for the mostly uneaten food and left. But he absolutely could not face Steve after that, so he called Kono and told her that he needed to go home and get ready for Grace to come over, and to call if something came up. He didn’t apologize for dumping that on her instead of calling Steve, but he knew she'd get enough from his tone to know something was up. After all, Danny thought to himself, she was the one who had noticed what was going on... and she would know things were maybe a bit awkward with Danny being at his house tonight.

“Keep an eye on him for me,” he said on a sigh.

“Yeah, brah, will do. Have a good time with Grace, ok?”

“Thanks, Kono,” he said, the relief plain in his voice, then went to try and make it seem like there was life in his house.

Grace was glad for their normal Wednesday night, Danny could tell, and that made him happy. He was too, even if he was completely and utterly distracted by what Melissa had said. Fortunately, Grace had some homework she needed his help with, and they got involved in that, and it kept him focused on Grace, which he was grateful for. It felt really wonderful to have just an ordinary night with his daughter—a bit of normalcy in a time of upheaval—and he tried to savor that. They made salads for dinner again, and if Grace noticed that he hadn’t had any since Sunday, she tactfully avoided the subject. She did ask about Steve, and if he’d liked the mug.

Danny felt a wave of annoyance. “Didn’t he thank you?” He asked, surprised by the lack of thoughtfulness.

But she smirked—and crap, that smirk looked so familiar. “Yeah, he did, Danno. He was very sweet. But is he really using it?”

Danny laughed. And scolded himself. Why was he so quick to be hard on Steve? “Yeah, monkey, he is. He brought it into the office, and has it on his desk for his coffee there.”

And Grace was enough a cop’s daughter to know just how significant a thing that was, and she blushed a little. “Good,” she said, smiling.

They wound up working on homework and then talking for too long to watch a movie, but they did have time before bed to read a little. So they curled up on the sofa with their books, and sipped hot cocoa. Danny had a soft spot for evenings like that, and it had been far too long since they'd had one. He found he was warmed all over by it, and felt it was really doing him good. Except for the part of his mind that kept slinking back to dwell on Steve, and how he might be doing.... And yeah, what Melissa had said.

When Grace got up to get ready for bed, Danny tried calling Steve, but didn’t get an answer. He hoped it was a good sign, that he was keeping busy, and he tried not to worry. But Danny and worry were never very far apart, so he texted Kono asking how the rest of the day had gone. He didn’t get a reply right away, and he was feeling a little shut out and trying not to panic. But then his phone rang.

“Danny.” It was Kono, and her tone was... concerned. “Steve’s at the office.”

He looked at the time. “Still?” He asked, puzzled. “What? Why?” If there was a case, he’d have called. And if.... _Dammit_ , he’d told Steve to call.

“I dunno, brah, but he’s a bit... wired.”

Danny sighed. “I just tried calling him but he didn’t answer,” he started.

“Yeah, I’m not really surprised,” Kono said. “He seemed really strange after you left, and when I told him you were going to go home and get ready for Grace, he got really quiet and stayed in his office after that. We made it through the day uneventfully, but he hadn't left by the time Chin and I did, and I don't know, I was worried he maybe wasn't going to leave, so after dinner, I went by the office and saw his truck still there and the light on. He didn’t see me,” she added swiftly when Danny made a sound. “But he seems really tense, brah. Even for him.”

Danny was growing angrier and angrier the longer Kono talked. “Ok, Kono,” he said. “Thanks.”

“What are you going to do?” She asked softly.

“I have no idea,” Danny replied.

“Ok,” she said gently. “Call me if you need me, ok?”

“Thanks,” he said on a sigh.

Danny sat there for a long time, head in his hands, tears burning in his eyes but refusing to fall. He tried to think logically about this, to figure out what the right thing was to do, what the smart thing was to do, but none of it mattered, because his heart was screaming so loudly, and he just couldn’t not follow it.

He picked up his phone and he called Melissa.

“Hey, Danny,” she said softly. “What’s wrong?” And then the tears did start to fall, because even with what had happened at lunch, she was still so sweet, and his heart would have broken at that if it wasn’t currently on the floor completely shattered.

“Can you come stay with Grace? I have to go to the office.” And he didn’t explain why, knew she wouldn’t ask.

“Yeah, of course, I’ll be right there,” she said.

While he waited, he went in and kissed his sleeping daughter, then paced the hall by the front door, wanting to—but being unable to— _think_.

When Melissa arrived, he kissed her cheek, thanked her, and said “I’ll be right back.”

She waved him off, then settled on the sofa with the remote and the TV on mute.

He sighed, then made himself walk slowly to the car and not speed on the way to the office. It was one of the harder things he’d done in a long time.

When he got to the office, he tried Steve's cell again, and this time he answered.

“Steve, what’s going on?”

Steve sighed. “Nothing, Danny, I’m fine.”

“I don’t think you are,” Danny replied, somewhat, ok a lot, angrily.

“Danny, I told you, I’m fine. I’ll see you tomorrow,” and Danny still just could not read Steve’s tone at all, and that had him really worried. He was outside Steve's office by that point, and he took a deep breath, opened the door, and locked eyes with Steve, who was behind his desk, pacing like a caged animal, and looking, frankly, frazzled.

“Hi,” Danny said, and he was sure that his eyes were not completely dry.

Steve let the hand holding his phone drop. “Danny....” And _that_ was a whole new tone. A whole new expression. And Danny was sure his heart would never be the same again.

“Let’s go, babe,” he whispered. “I’m taking you home with me.”

“Danny, don’t be—” but he stopped when Danny leveled a glare at him.

“Now, Steven.”

And Steve nodded and turned out the light.

They didn’t talk all the way back to Danny’s house. But when they got there, they stayed in the car, and Danny took a deep breath. “Melissa is in there. With Grace. You’re going to say hi, you’re going to go shower in the kids' bathroom, and you’re going to sleep in Charlie’s bed. I will come talk with you when Melissa has gone.” He turned to Steve. “Ok?”

Steve nodded.

Steve did as he was told, and bless her, Melissa looked like she’d known exactly what was coming. When Steve had left the room, she smiled at Danny with tears in her eyes, but a genuine smile on her lips.

“Melissa,” Danny started, completely unsure what he could possibly say. “Thank you,” he sighed. “Thank you so much.”

She smiled sadly but sweetly. “Of course,” she whispered.

“I don’t know...” he tried, but she shook her head.

“Go,” she said simply. And she squeezed his hands gently and turned to walk out the door.

Danny somehow made it to the kitchen where he managed to pour himself a glass of whiskey. He downed it then poured another, grabbed a second glass and filled that too. He went to his room, left one of the glasses on his bedside table, found some sweats for Steve. By the time he got to Charlie’s room, the shower had turned off, and soon Steve came in, stilling in the doorway when he saw Danny on the bed.

“Danny,” he started, but Danny cut him off with a look again. 

“No talking tonight, Steven. Drink this. Go to sleep. We will talk in the morning.”

Steve nodded, and Danny got up and walked slowly back to his room feeling completely sea sick.

To say he tossed and turned all night long would be an understatement. He punched his pillow, he pulled at his sheets, he sighed. His head resolutely refused to clear, his heart would not calm down, and his stomach, which frankly had been displeased all day, was seriously threatening to break his streak. Eventually, just as the sky was growing light, he fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Just a quick note-- I haven't seen the latest episode yet, so shhhhh, please no spoilers.)
> 
> Next chapter, Thursday, will be posted on Monday...... :-)


	4. Thursday

When Danny awoke, it was to the smell of coffee and the sound of soft voices coming from the kitchen. He startled when he realized what was happening, who was in his house. Taking a deep breath, he got up and somewhat staggered to the kitchen. And what he saw there positively, absolutely, completely, and utterly melted his wounded heart.

Steve was standing at the kitchen island, drinking coffee, and talking with Grace, who was eating pancakes.

“Morning, Danno,” she said with a huge smile. “Uncle Steve makes really good pancakes.”

Danny looked over at Steve who was looking into his coffee, but smiling softly.

“Yeah, he does, monkey,” Danny said, and he knew it was fond, and yeah, he was still upset with Steve, but the sight in his kitchen was doing strange things to his heart. He noticed Steve’s smile widened at his tone, and he shook his head slightly in amusement.

Steve poured Danny a cup of coffee, and when he handed him the mug, something inside Danny’s chest just clicked, and it was as if all the voices in his head competing for his attention were just silenced. And it wasn’t like figuring something out or deciding something or anything like that, it was just like suddenly seeing clearly what was right.

“Thanks, babe,” Danny whispered. 

Steve ducked his head, then turned back to the stove. “Want some pancakes, buddy?”

Danny smiled. “Yeah, that'd be great.”

After they ate, Grace went to get ready and pack her stuff, and Danny stood at the kitchen counter facing Steve. He blinked back the moisture in his eyes, swallowed, and said “I'm going to shower and get dressed. We’ll take her to school, then go home so you can get clean clothes. I’ll tell Kono we’ll be late.”

Steve nodded silently, and as Danny left the kitchen, he heard Steve start to wash the dishes.

Danny sighed, rubbed his face with both hands, and decided he was glad he'd gotten used to quick showers.

When they pulled up at Grace's school, Danny got out to hug her. “Take good care of Uncle Steve, Danno,” she whispered in his ear. “He needs it.” He drew a sharp breath in, and she kissed him on the cheek. “Hawaiian monk seals might like to live alone, but I don’t think Uncle Steve does.” 

Steve waved bye from the front seat. Grace blew him a kiss, and ran up the steps to school.

Danny turned back to the car with a slight shake of his head to clear the befuddlement. “Ok,” he said when he got back in. “Home, clothes, then work.”

“Danny, I’m so sorry,” Steve started.

Danny shook his head. “No, don’t be. Don’t. It’s.” He sighed. “Don’t be sorry. Please.” He swallowed, and looked at Steve. “I can’t do this now.” He shook his head. “We have to go to work.”

“Ok, buddy, we can do that.” Steve said, softly, fondly... lovingly.

“Yeah,” Danny said, starting the car. “We’re going to go to work.” He looked at Steve. He nodded. “That’s good.”

And Steve’s smirk was kind of out of place with how Danny was feeling, but at the same time, he thought he got it.

*

Fortunately, it was a busy day. At one point when they were back at HQ briefly for intel, between speeding chases and dodging explosives, Danny ducked into Steve’s office, and slumped onto the sofa.

“Didn’t sleep well, buddy?” Steve asked, and was rewarded for his lack of tact with a glare that Danny was sure hurt his own eyes giving it more than it affected Steve. Steve just smiled and said “How about I take you out for a nice meal after this day is over, ok, buddy?” Danny huffed a disbelieving laugh and rolled his eyes. Steve stayed in his chair, but Danny got the sense it was with some effort that he didn’t come sit with him... he held himself to a fond smile instead. “Yeah, that’s what we’ll do. A nice meal out.” And he got up and headed for the door, looking over his shoulder for Danny. “Come on, we gotta get going,” he said, trying to sound business-like, and not failing too horribly, Danny thought. He sighed and followed.

“Ok, but I really need more coffee if I’m going to keep up with you,” he groused as they walked into the main office, and he smiled hugely when Kono handed him a nice, full, hot paper cup from a nearby coffee shop.

She stayed back with him as Steve and Chin led the way out of the office. “Bossman ordered it,” she whispered in his ear, and gave him a sweet grin, then they ran to catch up with the others.

Eventually, the day ended, and it was really late, and Danny was exhausted, but Steve insisted they go out.

Steve must have slipped the waiter a tip, or maybe used some scary Navy SEAL look, because they got a nice, out of the way table, and Steve had evidently called it all in, because the waiter brought Danny’s favorite drink and their usual appetizers right away, and he shook his head in absolute bafflement over the puzzle that was Steve McGarrett.

Steve lifted his glass to Danny, and smiled, but didn’t say anything. He sat, patiently, watching Danny fondly but expectantly, and Danny knew that Steve was waiting for him to speak, waiting for him to start, and Danny wondered how much of this... show, of this staging, was some sort of protective measure Steve had adopted so that Danny would have to behave and not yell. Of course, Steve should have known that Danny would not let the fact they were in public keep him from yelling, but that was beside the point. He wasn’t about to pretend that it wasn’t nice to be pampered. He took a sip, sighed, and leaned forwards.

“What did you and Grace talk about?” First things first, after all.

“Oh, the usual... school, surfing... you.”

“You talked about me with my daughter?” And Danny couldn’t help it, he knew he sounded somewhere between panicked and angry.

“Easy, Danny,” Steve soothed. “She’s worried about you. Wanted to make sure I was keeping an eye on you... making sure you weren’t spending too much time alone. She said she didn’t think you and Melissa had been seeing much of each other. I kind of got the sense maybe they don’t get along so well?”

Danny’s heart turned over unpleasantly. That much, he’d feared. Melissa had backed off time around Grace fairly readily, and he’d suspected, though Melissa denied it, that it was because Grace had been uneasy around her. It was something Danny had swept very studiously under the rug, and preferred to leave it there, but Steve had picked up on it, so maybe it had been more obvious than he’d imagined. He sighed. “Yeah, I don’t think they're crazy about each other.” But then he looked up at Steve and laughed quietly. “She told me to look after you, when we dropped her off.”

Steve blushed so sweetly at that, Danny’s heart melted a little more. He sighed, took a bite of appetizer, and then just stepped off into the pit of whatever had been going on in Steve’s head last night. “So,” he started, and knew from the look in Steve’s eyes that he could tell what was coming. “What happened last night? I thought I told you to call me?” And he tried, really tried, to make it softer, not so angry, not so frustrated, but he knew he hadn’t done very well, as Steve flinched.

“Danny,” he sighed. “I—“ and he looked like he’d been about to offer vague platitudes, but Danny gave him a look that had worked on Steve before, and he acknowledged it with a slight smirk. “Ok.” He stopped. Sat back, took a drink, then took a deep breath. “I just couldn’t go home. I tried. I got in the truck. I even drove all the way home, and sat in front of the house. But I just couldn’t go in. I didn’t know what else to do, so I went back to the office.” He ducked his head, and looked up at Danny from lowered lashes, almost like he was afraid of being scolded.

Danny sighed. “Babe, this is why I told you to call me.” He leaned even further forward, and the damn table was too big and it was driving him crazy. “I tried, please remember, to talk to you about this, about you not doing well when I was gone on Saturday. I knew it was going to be rough. I wanted you to let me help you.”

“But, Danny, you needed time with Grace.”

Danny choked on that. “Yeah, babe, but not at your expense,” he managed. “I should have just brought you home in the first place.” He shook his head in regret.

A flash of anger stormed through Steve’s eyes. “That makes me sound impossibly pathetic,” he hissed.

Danny narrowed his eyes at him in response. “Yeah? As pathetic as me crumbling into a pile of goo in your arms after a weekend with my kids? As pathetic as me bawling my eyes out against your chest after realizing my ex-wife lied to me about my child because of my choices?” He made a vague if desperate gesture to indicate _and many such other things_ , and sank back in his chair.

“Danny,” Steve started, and he was using that slightly threatening, warning tone. “We’ve been through this. The whole point of what we’re doing, right?”

And Danny lifted his head in victory at that. “Exactly!” He huffed out a harsh breath. “Exactly, Steven, yes. The. Whole. Point.” He sighed again. “So.” And he looked intently into Steve’s eyes. “ _Why_. Did you not call me?”

“I don’t know,” he whispered, so softly. “I was afraid to. Didn’t want to worry you, didn’t want to....”

“To what?” Danny pressed. There was something there Steve was dancing around, avoiding admitting, and Danny just thought, if he could get it out.... But at the same time, he realized, he was pretty sure what Steve meant, and he was equally certain that he would not say it. He huffed out his annoyance and took a calming breath in. “Ok, babe, look.” He smiled softly. “I get it. I do, at least I think I do.” He leaned forward again, lowering his tone, softening the edges that wanted to be harsh in frustration. “You don’t want to be a burden, you don’t want to do anything to drive me away. But, babe, you can’t. I’ve already _got you_. You’re already so _in_ me, the only burden is not sharing it with me. That’s the only thing that could hurt.” He felt the tears forming, but let them fall. “I can’t know you’re alone like that and not come get you. Not anymore. Not ever again. I just... my heart won’t let me.” He licked his lips, and bit at the bottom one. “I’m going to come find you, like I did.” He swallowed and looked into Steve’s equally watery eyes. “So, you may as well just tell me. It would save a lot of grief.” He tried to make it light, at the end, and even as he said it, he was pretty sure he knew what Steve would say back. “And I know. I know, you’re going to say I already know, so you don’t have to tell me, and yeah, you’re right. I knew. I knew from the beginning you shouldn’t be alone last night, and believe me, I’m kicking myself over that one, and a whole bunch of other stuff. But, Jesus, Steve, it would be nice if you’d just once, just once... _just ask_.” And he blinked, and several more tears fell, and the waiter had been hovering with their food, and he slipped the plates onto the table and retreated swiftly. Danny looked down and let out an exasperated laugh.

“Ok,” Steve whispered.

Danny looked at him with raised eyebrows. “Ok?” He asked. And he shook his head at the memory, at so many memories, of similar times, when he'd spoken to Steve passionately about something, and seen that shift in Steve’s eyes, heard it in his tone, when he got it. When he accepted what Danny was saying and jumped over to his side, letting his crap go, letting his resistance, his stubbornness, whatever, just drop. It was always like that, sudden, yet inevitable. Just like so many things with them. And Danny smiled, swallowed back more tears, and nodded. “Yeah. Ok.” And, he took a deep breath, and took a big drink.

They ate maybe half the meal, in mostly-easy silence, then got the leftovers packed up and headed sleepily home.

Danny climbed into bed, beside Steve, and for the first time it felt awkward. For the first time, he was hyper aware of what they’d been doing, of what this all was meaning, of where it was leading... or, if it wasn’t, how it was something from which he didn’t think he could recover. And he absolutely did not know what to do. His mind was whirling, he was having a hard time breathing deeply, and he was feeling sea sick again. Now that he knew—now that he’d admitted to himself—what he wanted, he didn’t know how to ask for it. Just as he felt like he was about to start crying, he heard Steve.

“Hey, Daniel,” and the use of his full name indicated that Steve had been trying to get his attention for a while. “Look at me, Danny, come on.”

Danny turned on his side to face Steve, who smiled softly at him. “That’s better,” he whispered. “Hey, what is it you said to me? Don’t let this be so hard? Just let it be easy? Just... trust me.” And he raised his eyebrows questioningly. “Ok, Danny? Let’s just sleep. We’ll figure it out, ok? Together, right? That’s the whole point. Together.”

And Danny wasn’t at all sure it was going to be ok, but he closed his eyes and let Steve pull him close, and as soon as he was in Steve’s arms, his pulse slowed, his breath deepened, and he felt a level of peace he hadn’t since Kono had called him to tell him Steve was still at the office. Just as he was drifting off to sleep, he heard Steve whisper “I love you,” and it sounded exactly the same and yet completely different than it ever had before, and he was too far asleep to be able to respond, but he felt himself hug Steve’s arm tighter, and he thought he might have smiled.


	5. Friday

Before Danny was even awake, he knew Steve wasn’t in bed with him. He tried to squelch his disappointment at that, but it was difficult. He turned over and laughed softly as he saw that Steve was sitting in the chair at the side of the bed, watching him.

“How long you been sitting there?”

“A while,” Steve admitted.

“I slept in,” Danny realized.

Steve smiled. “Yeah, you needed it,” and he sounded sad, and that hurt Danny so much.

Danny thought about getting him back next to him in bed, but he was fairly sure that Steve needed the distance right now, because he was pretty sure what he needed to ask.

Danny took a deep breath and sat up. “Can I at least have coffee first?” He asked, and yeah, he sounded resigned, and strained. He knew it.

Steve smirked somewhat bitterly and got up. “Yeah, of course. Be right back.”

Danny got up once he was gone and walked out to the lanai. He wasn’t sure if that was the right place for this conversation, but it sure as hell wasn’t bed.

Steve came back with coffee and malasadas, and Danny huffed out a surprised laugh.

“Kono brought them,” Steve explained. “I called to tell her we’d be late, and she showed up a little bit later and said she thought you might need them.” He looked askance at Danny. “Want to tell me what that’s about?” And his tone was so flat, it was hard for Danny to not freak out.

He sighed. “She knows.” He took a sip of coffee. “Well, knows I’ve been staying here.”

Steve’s eyes narrowed. “Clearly.”

Danny rolled his eyes. “Babe, I did try to warn you they’d figure it out.”

Steve’s expression softened. “Yeah, you’re right. You did.” He sighed and sat back, taking one of the malasadas, which made Danny smile.

“She’s how I knew where you were Wednesday night,” Danny said quietly. “I was worried when you didn’t answer, so I texted her. She’d been... keeping an eye on you....” He sighed, realizing how bad that sounded. “I was upset that you wouldn’t listen to me about Wednesday night, and then, I was freaked out by your reaction that morning....” But he couldn’t quite bring himself to say what that reaction had been to.... And here now was the heart of it. Steve tensed. Danny swallowed.

“How’d that go?” Steve asked softly.

“Awful?” Danny started. “Heartbreaking? Insightful? Amazing? All of the above, I don’t know. It was. God, she’s amazing. I think I’m so jaded, because of Rachel, because of others, I just can’t fathom a woman being so...” he faded off. “Understanding” was not the right word, but it was the only thing that came close. He sighed, took a malasada and leaned back. “Things have been... different... with us. Since Charlie.” He took a deep breath. “Of course. I mean, how could they not. But I think everything kind of shifted then, because I just didn’t know how to respond, and she didn’t know how to react, and so we both just kind of ignored it.... And I think that was when we started spending longer apart? Because I had to keep up a front with her, well, I felt I did, and that was sort of exhausting. And that was when you and I fell into our more regular kind of whatever you want to call it, being grumpy together on the sofa?” And he laughed just lightly and felt close to tears. “But I guess she’s read more into that all along. At least, I think she must have. And, I guess she was right....” He sighed, grabbed another malasada. Chanced a look at Steve. His hazel eyes were dry but his expression was more open than it had been all morning, as if he’d thought the same thing about their sofa/movie/companionship time over the past months, just hadn’t dared say it.

It was enough encouragement to push Danny forward. He took a deep breath. 

“She asked me if I was in love with you.”

Steve's face remained neutral. “And what did you say?” He asked. 

Danny sighed, and looked Steve in the eye. “I said I didn’t know,” he whispered.

Steve blinked, slowly, once, and then asked: “And is that true?”

Danny felt his eyes watering, but the tears didn't fall. He looked at Steve through the tears and on a breath, he admitted it. “No.” And then the tears fell. 

And Steve smiled. “Ok.” And it was like he’d decided that was enough for now, and frankly Danny was kind of glad because that sea sick feeling hadn’t really gone away at all. “Go shower, Danny. Let’s go to work.” And he stood, and offered Danny his hand, and Danny’s heart flipped and he nearly choked. “And then, you promised me a weekend of swimming and eating and drinking and relaxing.”

“And what are you going to tell Kono and Chin?”

“I think I’ll leave that to you,” Steve said on a smirk, and he picked up the tray and took it downstairs.

Danny found, in the shower, that his mind was completely unable to think properly about anything, so he just let it whirl around because at least when he let it alone he didn’t get swept in and then dizzy. It did have the effect of making him slightly giddy, however. Although, the malasadas probably were not helping with that, and he found himself thinking that what he really needed was some protein. As soon as the thought had formed he laughed out loud because he’d clearly been letting Steve into his head. But, then, when he got downstairs, ready to head to the office, he found that Steve had packed not only lunches, but a breakfast sandwich for Danny. He stood there, looking at it in his hand, blush forming on his cheeks, disbelief in his mind, and that crazy warmth in his heart. Steve evidently read plenty in his expression because he gifted Danny with the biggest, most wonderful heart-expanding smirk Danny had seen in a very long time. Shaking his head a little to clear it, he laughed softly and whispered “Thanks, babe.”

When they got to HQ, a case was already in full swing, and Chin got them up to speed, then they were rushing out to follow a lead. Danny caught a questioning look from Kono as they headed to the cars, and he returned it with a shrug and what was probably a goofy smile. She laughed.

By the time the bad guys were dealt with, the hostages freed, and the loot in question returned to the rightful owners, it was late enough that going back to the office—considering it was Friday—was the last thing any of them wanted. The four of them stood on the sidewalk next to their cars, looking at each other slightly awkwardly. Kono looked at Steve, and she looked at Danny. Chin was watching Kono.

“Just one quick beer before we all head home?” She suggested, and Danny wanted to kiss her.

“Sounds great!” Steve exclaimed, and headed for the Camaro’s driver side door.

Danny mouthed “Thank you” at Kono, and Chin caught it, and looked a question at Kono. Danny was fairly sure some version of a conversation would happen on the drive to Kamekona’s. But he found that he really didn’t mind very much at all.

The conversation in his car, however, was considerably less coherent. Steve held Danny’s hand and smirked, and Danny just kind of grinned, occasionally trying to get Steve to talk about what food they wanted to get for the weekend, but each time, his words got kind of jumbled, and Steve’s smirk just grew and grew till Danny sighed, squeezed Steve’s hand, and leaned back in his seat admitting to himself that being driven around maybe had its benefits sometimes.

When they pulled up (unsurprisingly before the cousins, as Chin was a civilized driver when he was off the clock), Danny kept Steve in the car.

“Babe, please, just...” he smiled. “Just, behave, ok?”

Steve tilted his head at Danny and smirked. “I don’t know what you mean, Danny.”

“No, uh, kisses on the cheek, no hand holding, try not to hug me too much... just. Be good, ok? Please?”

Leaning towards Danny, smirk growing, Steve kissed Danny on the cheek and whispered “Promise.”

Danny had to hand it to him, he was very well behaved. Possibly _too_ well behaved, as at one point Kono gave Danny an odd look. Mr. Handsy kept his hands and his arms to himself, and even sat a respectable distance from Danny on the bench. Chin brought up surfing together, but he did it in such a way that it was easy to say maybe next time, and Danny sent Kono a “Thank you” look which got him a wink in return. As they were leaving, Danny pulled Kono aside for a hug.

“Take care of yourself this weekend. Please call me if you need to talk, ok?” She rolled her eyes slightly at him as she pulled away.

“I’ll be fine,” she said on a smile. “Chin’s staying through the weekend, in case Sunday brings up any bad memories, but really, brah, I’m good.”

“Ok, but still. Call me.” And he ruffled her hair. “Thanks for the malasadas, by the way.”

Kono smirked, which had Danny thinking she shouldn’t spend too much time with Steve, then waved and got in the car with Chin.

As soon as they’d driven off, Steve pulled Danny to him and kissed him on the head. “I do ok, buddy?” He asked Danny’s hair softly.

Danny squeezed back. “Yeah, babe, you were great.”

“Good, now let’s go shopping!” And Steve launched himself at the Camaro while Danny laughed and thought to himself he’d never seen someone so happy about grocery shopping.

For all that Steve had refused to discuss potential menus, he had an awfully solid idea of the grocery list. Lots of meat to grill, sweets for Danny, and mixings for some sort of fruity cocktail. He tried to get the little umbrellas but Danny glared at him. Danny grabbed salad stuff and Steve smirked at him.

When they got home, Steve wanted to swim, and when Danny refused to go with him, it looked for a long minute like he might pick Danny up and throw him in the water, but he held himself back. Danny sat and drank a beer while Steve swam, and his thoughts began to sort themselves out at least a little as he dug his feet in the soft, warm sand.

Once he got past the feeling dizzy, because really it had been quite the week, what he found he felt most of all was really just a calm sense of something so right. The freaking out over how easy living with Steve had been right from the beginning, the worry about their physical closeness, concern over Melissa, or the kids, or Chin and Kono... none of it was very loud in the end, compared to his heart when confronted with the choice. He found himself thinking again of the inevitability of it all, the ceaseless pull, the underlying current, the compulsion... name it what you might, they’d been inexorably drawn together from the very beginning, and there was something of kismet to it, some kind of magical meant-to-be, and yet with more than a hint of just plain and simple can’t resist, thrown together with a dash of explosive overwhelming fire. And Danny didn’t know how it might all play out, but it kind of didn’t matter, because he felt he was just riding the wave of it now, and could only let it go where it took him. But he wasn’t fighting it anymore. And, when he saw that—while he’d  _known_ it—if he was really deeply honest, he saw three poignant moments when three soft, sweet voices had pointed out to him what he’d been trying to ignore, and his heart warmed and broke a little at the same time as he remembered. But then he pulled himself back to the moment, because he’d learned one thing, and that was that he needed to pay better attention to his heart. And right now, his heart was out at sea, and he was going to give himself this weekend, with the salt water and the sea air and the cocktails, and the time with Steve, to really get it right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so Part 6 has come along a lot faster than I'd imagined... I can probably have it ready at some point next week. OR I can do like I'd planned, and post a chapter of "By Your Side" and one of "The Best Medicine" next week. Which would you rather have first?


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